Procedure descriptions

Honorary judge at the tax court - to be appointed

Honorary judges are citizens who take part in court proceedings.
If you are elected as an honorary judge, you are obliged to accept the office. Exceptions are possible.

As an honorary judge, you should contribute experience, knowledge and judgements from your everyday life to the hearings and deliberations.

The same principles apply to you as to professional judges:

  • You are bound by law and justice.
  • You have the same rights and the same responsibility in the hearing and in reaching a judgement.
  • They are not bound by instructions when making judgements and are obliged to remain absolutely neutral.

In the fiscal courts, the senates of the fiscal courts normally decide with three professional judges and two honorary judges.

Responsible department

for the election of honorary judges at the Fiscal Court of Baden-Württemberg:
An election committee consisting of

  • the President of the Fiscal Court,
  • a civil servant from the state financial administration to be appointed by the Karlsruhe Higher Finance Directorate and
  • seven counsellors elected by the state parliament.

Details

Prerequisite

Mandatory requirement: German citizenship

In addition, the persons concerned should

  • be at least 25 years old and
  • have their place of residence or their commercial or professional establishment within the court district.

Exceptions are possible.

The following are excluded from office

  • is incapable of holding public office as a result of a judgement,
  • has been charged with an offence that may result in the loss of this capacity,
  • has been sentenced to more than six months' imprisonment for an intentional offence, or
  • has been convicted of a tax or monopoly offence within the last ten years, unless it is an offence for which the law in force after the conviction only imposes a fine,
  • does not have the right to vote for the Landtag.

Honorary judges cannot be appointed due to the principle of separation of powers, among other reasons:

  • Members of the Bundestag and state parliaments
  • Members of the European Parliament
  • Members of the federal government or a state governmentgovernment
  • Judges, civil servants or employees of the federal and state tax administrations
  • Professional soldiers and temporary soldiers
  • Lawyers, notaries, patent attorneys, patent attorneys, tax advisors and tax consultantspatent attorneys, tax advisors, members of the board of directors of tax consulting firms who are not tax advisors, authorised tax agents, auditors, sworn accountants and persons who deal with third-party legal matters on a professional basis.

Note: Persons who have fallen into financial difficulties should not be appointed as honorary judges.

Procedure

Honorary judges are elected by the Election Committee for five years on the basis of lists of nominees.
The President of the Tax Court draws up the lists of candidates every fifth year.

The President of the the President of the Fiscal Court determines the required number of honorary judges. Each person is expected to be called upon to sit for a maximum of twelve ordinary sitting days per year. Special expertise or prior knowledgeor previous experience are not required.

You can only refuse to be appointed to this office in exceptional cases. The following are authorised to do so:

  • Clergymen and ministers of religion
  • Lay judges and other honorary judges
  • Personspersons who have served two terms of office as honorary judges at the tax court.
  • Persons who are 67 years of age or older.
  • Doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacy managers who are not pharmacistswho do not employ a pharmacist.

Please note: In cases of particular hardship, you can be exempted from taking up the post on application, for example if you are infirm, predominantly working abroad or if you have underage children in need of care. The decision is made by the relevant senate of the tax court.

Deadlines

none

Required documents

none

Costs

Costs may be incurred. You can find out more about possible expense allowances under "Other".

Miscellaneous

Honorary judges receive compensation for their work in accordance with the German Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act (JVEG).
This includes

  • Reimbursement of travelling expenses,
  • Compensation for expenses,
  • Compensation for other expenses,
  • Compensation for lost time,
  • Compensation for disadvantages in housekeeping and
  • Compensation for loss of earnings.

Legal basis

Grundgesetz (GG):

  • Artikel 97 Absatz 1 Unabhängigkeit der Richter

Finanzgerichtsordnung (FGO):

  • § 5 Aufbau der Finanzgerichte
  • § 10 Bundesfinanzhof
  • §§ 16 bis 30 Ehrenamtliche Richter

Deutsches Richtergesetz (DRiG):

  • § 44 Bestellung und Abberufung des ehrenamtlichen Richters
  • § 45 Unabhängigkeit und besondere Pflichten des ehrenamtlichen Richters

Landesrichtergesetz (LRiG):

  • § 13 Eid der ehrenamtlichen Richter
  • § 14 Unfallfürsorge für ehrenamtliche Richter

Justizvergütungs- und -entschädigungsgesetz (JVEG):

  • §§ 5 bis 7 Gemeinsame Vorschriften
  • §§ 15 bis 18 Entschädigung von ehrenamtlichen Richtern

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Justizministerium Baden-Württemberg, 24.03.2025